Danny Breaker can’t believe the news.

Marine Cpl. Matt Dillon of Aiken, whom Breaker regarded as “a son,” died Monday in Iraq.

The 25-year-old Dillon was one of three Marines killed when their Humvee was struck by a roadside bomb in Iraq’s volatile Al Anbar province, the Defense Department said Wednesday.

A graduate of Wardlaw Academy, Dillon is the 47th member of the U.S. military with S.C. ties to die in the Iraq war. As of Wednesday, that war has claimed the lives of 2,933 members of the U.S. military.

Breaker, 40, was Dillon’s squad leader when the two served together in the S.C. National Guard’s 122nd Engineer Battalion, which left for a yearlong deployment to Iraq in February 2003.

While in Iraq with the 122nd, Dillon was one of four Guard members wounded when a mortar round hit their five-ton truck, Breaker said.

“We hugged each other ... and told each other we were going to make it through that day together,” said Breaker, who escaped injury.

Dillon received the Purple Heart medal, awarded to service members wounded in action.

After returning from Iraq, Dillon decided he wanted to serve in the active-duty military, said Breaker, a sergeant first class.

Dillon, the son of Neal and Lucy Dillon, was following in the footsteps of his two older brothers — one who was in the Marines, and another who is a lieutenant colonel in the Army.

Dillon was a smart and disciplined soldier, who volunteered for tough jobs and was on track to be a squad leader despite his youth, Breaker said.

“Matt was there in Iraq because that’s what he loved doing,” Breaker said. “The military lost a great soldier. But, at the same time, he knew the Lord and he is there with Him.”

Neal Dillon said Tuesday he heard a knock at the door Monday night and thought it was a UPS delivery.

“I went to the front door looking for a package and found two pairs of shiny shoes and fully dressed Marine sergeants,” he said. “This was the first time I really knew in my life what grief was.”

Neal Dillon, a Vietnam veteran, said he last talked to his youngest son Sunday.

“He wanted to make sure we had gotten Christmas presents for his two brothers.”

Reach Crumbo at (803) 771-8503. The Associated Press contributed.